


Red Tower

by Dev14



Series: Apotheosis [2]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alpha Kuchiki Byakuya, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, ByaRen, Byakuya and Renji vibing in the city, Continuing from Apotheosis Chapter 6, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, No beta we die like hollows, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Abarai Renji, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Read that part first, Romance, Slow Burn, Summary may change, They're in Tokyo, but angst first
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28029594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dev14/pseuds/Dev14
Summary: They were runaways, Renji struggling to cope with the events of his abduction and something more he wouldn't share, and Byakuya trying to make everything work for the two of them. And even in a metropolis as vast as Tokyo, they couldn't help but found themselves unable to leave each other.Excerpt:Something shifted beside him, and he only belatedly realized the additional weight pressing against his side. His bleary eyes picked up strands of crimson messily braided, long fringes covered sleeping eyes. Puffs of soft breathing filtered his ears and his sensitive nose picked up the faint, sweet scent of the younger man who was sleeping beside him, head resting close to his shoulder. The warmth came from Abarai, it seemed, and the thick covers he pulled around them.“You should’ve told me this is where you’ve been sleeping,” a sleepy voice muttered, and Byakuya almost jolted in surprise. The other continued, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “the bed’s big enough for five people.”“That would not be proper,” he said softly, caging the urge to slip an arm around the redhead’s shoulder and pull him closer.
Relationships: Abarai Renji/Kuchiki Byakuya
Series: Apotheosis [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2032267
Comments: 9
Kudos: 45





	Red Tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second part of Apotheosis is here~! *toots trumpet*
> 
> So this will be different, tonal and thematic-wise. Obviously it's in Tokyo, and they wouldn't be dealing with much shinigami stuff aside from occasional mentions maybe (until the plot thickens? Who knows) As always, I'm run-and-gunning this bish, so get ready for... a, uh, ride?
> 
> And also an excuse to develop the romaanze between the two. And not much else, really lol.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy~!

From within the dark room looking out, the draperies closed down, hiding the glittering night scene of Tokyo. City lights so bright, the stars looking from above were jealous as the moon was shy. The celestial bodies were never visible under the smog of the metropolis.

Tokyo Tower glowed crimson and golden with the many artificial lights, brighter than everything in its surrounding, sticking out above the city, just like the sun amidst distant stars. A deity amongst mortals.

The city never sleeps. It couldn’t.

And a certain crimson-haired youth, curled up in the too-large bed with covers strewn to the corners by kicking feet, bronze orbs wide awake like the morning sun as he stared into an empty wall, couldn’t help but share the city’s plight.

His eyes darted once again to the bedroom door, and once again found it was still tightly, securely shut, with the locking mechanism in place. He couldn’t hear a single sound, save for his own breathing, his heartbeat that sounded too loud in his ears, and the white noise coming from the city hundreds of feet below him. A growling sound of a distant thunder signified an incoming rain, a soothing sound. Everything was going for him, lulling him to fall into the arms of sleep—the comforting darkness, the ambient noise, the cajoling softness of his bed.

Yet sleep wouldn’t come to him. Again, his tired eyes found the door to the room, almost delirious, as if its condition would change within the last five seconds. A soft thumping noise, muffled outside of his room, reached his ears and his heartbeat picked up.

 _This was what he had been fearing_.

Footsteps grew louder, approaching, and his breathing hastened. His body was taut, and his muscles tensed, readying himself for _something_ when the footsteps drew to a halt right outside the door to his room.

A series of short knocks were made against the white, wooden door and he felt his heart jumped up to his throat. He heard _someone_ saying something from beyond the door, the knob rattling and he stifled a pathetic whimper but even when his ears picked up _everything,_ he was hearing _nothing_.

The rattling grew louder, and someone shouted what he thought as his name and his thoughts screamed at him because _they found him._

_._

“Abarai!”

Byakuya knocked again, each time faster as his nerves grew. He rattled the unbudging knob to no avail, calling the redhead’s name again.

He was woken up by a strange spike in the other’s energy and promptly sat up from the sofa, his eyes already zooming into the direction of the bedroom door. The other’s _reiatsu_ fluctuated in a concerning manner and he found himself striding to the door to the only bedroom in the apartment. _Of course it was locked._

The _reiatsu_ seeping out from the room worried him, tinged with fear and panic and he called out his lieutenant’s name once more, louder—but it only served to make the energy spiked, almost feral as it washed over his own.

“Abarai,” he tried, softer, “Renji, please... open the door.”

It was quiet for a long while. The fluctuating _reiatsu_ calmed somewhat, retracting back to its owner.

“Captain?” the voice was small, almost _timid_ in its questioning tone—which was _odd_ , because Abarai Renji was anything but—muffled by the barrier the door provided.

“Yes,” he answered, “it is me. Are you sound, lieutenant?” It left a bad taste in his mouth to use such titles in their current situation, but it seemed the redhead was counting on the familiarity of their ranks if nothing else.

“I’m ok,” the other’s voice answered back, “just a nightmare. Don’t worry, captain.”

Byakuya frowned at the unfeeling door. Of course he would worry. There were plenty of things to worry about.

It had been five days since their arrival in Tokyo, and two days since his lieutenant regained his consciousness. Since his initial outburst the moment he woke up, finding out where he was and what happened in the time he was unconscious—what Byakuya _did_ , again—the younger shinigami had kept to himself, more often than not. He hadn’t left the apartment, let alone gone outside of the building. He ate what Byakuya gave him—take-outs since Byakuya couldn’t cook to save his life—and wore what Byakuya had pointed in the bedroom’s closet and said little to no words since.

It was concerning.

And what was more concerning, was that the mark on his neck was healing, and Byakuya didn’t know what to do. He had no dampener with him, and the ones Urahara Kisuke could give him were half-baked at most—the man had never encountered an omega himself, let alone understood the properties of their pheromones, outside from his acquaintance with the redhead.

While the Material World was practically filled with nothing but betas—sans a handful of alphas in unknown corners of the world—he wasn’t about to take risks. Some betas were keener to pheromones than others, and it was more than likely there were shinigami patrolling in the huge metropolis. Shinigami of various backgrounds—even nobilities, be they the lower houses. They might alert the Tsunayashiro, one way or the other, of the presence of the sole, fertile omega known. Who knew which noble houses aligned themselves with that clan.

Which was why he couldn’t take that risk. And that left him with no choice but to periodically bite Abarai to subdue his omega pheromone. Either that, or have Abarai never leaving the apartment.

Obviously, both choices were not ideal. He couldn’t fully grasp the mental state of the redhead, but he knew it was in a worse condition than it should be. To suggest another bite, let alone a _routine_ of them, might worsen the younger’s condition. And to force him into never leaving the apartment was to make him a prisoner.

And there was also the fact that Byakuya was an alpha who had been celibate for over half a century, who even now had to restraint his demanding beast from simply mating the vulnerable omega, from ‘comforting’ him with his mark of possession—because his instinct _obviously_ knew it was the best thing to do—let alone surviving the omega pheromones if he were not to bite the other once the current mark healed completely.

So yes, Byakuya had plenty— _plenty—_ to worry about.

“Very well,” he said instead, making sure the redhead heard him and left the door to throw himself down to his makeshift ‘bed’, sitting down rather ungraciously for someone of his status.

As luck would have it, he couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night, even as the sweet sound of thunder rolled and rain poured from the heavens to the city below him. The pitter-patter of droplets hitting the floor-to-ceiling windows hidden behind curtains unable to tear him off the need to constantly check the redhead's calmed down spiritual energy until he was sure the redhead was asleep in his room. And still, he kept watch.

* * *

He was awake by the break of dawn, rubbing his bleary eyes with the heels of his hands and stretching as a cat would on the bed. Mornings managed to shift his somber mood, though not by much. He sat there, leaning against the cushioned headboard, looking blankly at his lap under the darkness of the room.

Early mornings were always cold, much too cold for him and he tugged at the thick covers as he carried himself sluggishly to the edge of the bed, pulling it around him like a cape. He walked to the lengthy curtains and opened them some, squinting his eyes from the soft morning sunrise.

The wooden floor was cold on his bare feet, and he reminded himself to ask his captain for a pair of indoor sandals—preferably one of those fuzzy ones Rukia often raved about. He padded to the door, clicked the lock open, and tentatively peeked out to the living room, watching for signs of the other occupant of the apartment. He was greeted with silence and took a tentative step out.

The floor was carpeted by the living area and the duvet he dragged around him swished heavily as he gingerly approached the warmer, cushioned flooring.

Only to witness his captain sitting—sleeping—rather uncomfortably on the large white sofa facing the turned-off television, his body crouching forward and head lolling down his shoulders, clad in a grey sweater and black cotton pants with his feet bare, looking too domestic for comfort. 

He hadn’t thought about where his captain would sleep with him hogging the bed, honestly speaking. Hadn’t even wanted to entertain the notion of inviting the man to share the bed—which was more than enough for the two of them. Had simply cast the thought out of his head as unnecessary and unimportant.

But from the position his captain was in, it was like he accidentally fell asleep when he wasn’t planning to. “Captain?” he called out; hand unsure but he found himself shaking the raven’s shoulder gently. The man didn’t budge, not even an instinctive response. He never thought the raven was a heavy sleeper.

 _Must’ve been pretty exhausted_ , he thought. Though he didn’t see how, since he hadn’t exactly seen the older man doing anything extraneous the past couple of days since he was awake. The man usually only left the apartment three times a day for their food, and he never took over an hour to return each time.

He didn’t entertain the train of thoughts any longer, his body moved on its own around the sofa and he sat himself down next to the raven. His nose picked up the other’s alpha scent and he leaned closer, closer, until their shoulders touched, body warmth shared. Even then, the raven kept on sleeping.

Renji felt his eyes droop, lulled by the comforting musk of his captain’s pheromone and the cold of early morning, pulling the covers over the two of them and drifted off not long after.

.

Byakuya didn’t mean to fall asleep, let alone in such a bone-aching position. The joints around his shoulders and neck protested as he tried to pick his head up. He stifled a groan, at least the morning was warm.

Something shifted beside him, and he only belatedly realized the additional weight pressing against his side. His bleary eyes picked up strands of crimson messily braided, long fringes covered sleeping eyes. Puffs of soft breathing filtered his ears and his sensitive nose picked up the faint, sweet scent of the younger man who was sleeping beside him, head resting close to his shoulder. The warmth came from Abarai, it seemed, and the thick covers he pulled around them.

“You should’ve told me this is where you’ve been sleeping,” a sleepy voice muttered, and Byakuya almost jolted in surprise. The other continued, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “the bed’s big enough for five people.”

“That would not be proper,” he said softly, caging the urge to slip an arm around the redhead’s shoulder and pull him closer. Instead, he fisted his hands on his knees, taking a deep breath before cracking his neck back to its proper position. This time, the groan escaped him before he could stop it.

Renji felt his cheeks heat up at the raven’s words, his brain told him that the noble was treating him like a hapless woman on her first date, but his heart couldn’t help but pick up. He knew the raven was raised a gentleman, but he didn’t think it would be extended to someone like Renji. A Rukon dog.

“You’re just saying that because I’m an omega,” he frowned, and after noticing the pained groan Byakuya let out as he straightened his posture, he pulled away, making the duvet fall to their laps instead. “And you’re clearly not comfortable sleeping here, Captain.” Not that sleeping in that position helped any.

“This is nothing,” the raven insisted, then backtracked when he remembered what the redhead said before, “and I am not treating you like an omega, Abarai. I am merely extending courtesy toward what had happened to you before. I understand such an occurrence would strain one’s mental condition.”

“I’m fine,” was the immediate answer, almost hissed, and the redhead slid out of the sofa as if he was burnt. His looming figure took a stand in front of the windows, tugging at the curtains until the morning lights flooded the entire room. He grimaced at the sudden brightness, but unable to do anything but stare blankly at the cityscape below. Recent memories, though hazy as they were, flooded his mind and he did his best to erase them from his head. They only brought him unpleasant shudders and nightmares thus far.

The raven’s eyes soften. Despite his words, Abarai was more vulnerable than he let on. Still, Byakuya would wait, however long it would take for the younger to open up and share his doubts and worry with him. Burdened with so many things for his very own omega nature, the noble worried that it wouldn’t take long for the other to break to pieces, unable to hold on to everything and let them slip from his hands.

And when that happened, Byakuya would be sure to be there to help him pick up the pieces. And perhaps, put them back together. But for now, he would let Renji have his space. He just hoped that he was doing the right thing.

“Then I will accept if you are indeed offering,” he said, also standing up and gathering the duvet in his arms. He would need to procure them breakfast soon.

Renji turned his head from the city and found his captain folding the duvet, feeling odd at such a domestic sight. “You spent money on it, so it’s only natural for you to sleep in the bedroom. I can take the sofa.”

There was a misplaced tick to the elder’s lips, something akin to a smile but not quite, yet the clear amusement was there. “How could I let you sleep here, Abarai? You said it yourself, the bed could fit both of us easily.”

Biting his tongue from retaliating, finding himself tired of debating stupid things, the redhead relented with the tips of his ears heated.

“Fine. I’ll let you know that I’m not a silent sleeper.”

* * *

That day, Renji decided he would not be living on take-outs anymore. And also, less enthusiastically and more nerve-rackingly so, he decided to leave the apartment unit for the first time since his arrival.

There shouldn’t be anything to worry about, his captain said it before. After all, the nobilities wouldn’t come knocking to the Material World anytime soon. Let alone to such a densely populated metropolis with such low _reishi_ level compared to Karakura—no attachments to nor history with the spiritual worlds whatsoever.

“It would have been better to build a different guise for you,” his captain said as they leave the apartment to find the elevator—he still couldn’t get his head around how savvy the raven was with human technologies—and continued bemusedly, “but I figure you would not appreciate your hair nor tattoos altered.”

“Damn right,” he grumbled.

He was wearing what felt to him a near-torture device that served to choke the living lights out of him called a ‘turtleneck’ shirt. Never used to having something wrapping around his neck, no matter how loose and soft the material was, it still felt like someone was gripping his throat. ‘It will loosen some as you wear it’ his captain said reassuringly, but as he tugged on the high collar for the twelfth time since he put the clothing on, he sincerely doubted that was the case.

The shirt was medium-beige and long-sleeved, paired with a pair of form-fitting moss-green pants stopping short above his ankles, accentuating his mile-long toned legs, and chocolate-brown strappy sandals befitting the summer season. His scarlet hair fringed his forehead, braided messily to the side of his shoulder with a simple hairband.

The entire outfit was designed to cover his tattoos, with only glimpses of the ones on his forehead visible—the use of his usual shades or headgears were unavailable, as they were left in the Kuchiki Manor, and made of _reishi_ , in the first place. To not attract attention, ‘or at least lessen them’, the elder said as he meticulously picked the outfits for Renji, admiring Renji’s scarlet strands as he watched the younger braided his hair when he wasn’t looking.

“Remember, you are Nitsukō Renji and I am Kashiwagi Byakuya,” the raven reminded as the elevator took them to the lobby of the building, “and call me by my name.”

“Yes, Byakuya,” the redhead rolled his eyes, his captain sounding more like a mother-hen than anything with the many times he had gone over the same thing. He heard the raven sigh and chose to ignore it.

The elevator let out a soft ‘ding’ as they finally arrived at the designated floor, making no stops to other floors beforehand. He immediately let himself out of the cramped space, sweet scenting as it was, feeling awkward standing in such proximity with the other. 

_Byakuya_ strode out with an air of elegance befitting a noble—or in the case of the humans, maybe a wealthy entrepreneur—with his three-piece suit of a white dress shirt, navy jacket, and pants, along with the shiny black leather oxfords. He looked expensive, and owned the floor wherever he went, Renji decided with a wrinkle to his nose. Rich bastards.

It almost made Renji feel inadequate, if not for the raven’s eyes who looked at him with something akin to reverence now and again. He still didn’t get why. Or maybe he was just being too self-conscious. There was nothing remotely attractive nor interesting about him aside from the bold color of his hair and his tattoos, after all.

The doorman greeted them, or rather, Byakuya, when he caught the two of them walking down the lobby. it was a pretty luxurious building, now that Renji thought about it. Like a hotel more than a simple apartment building, or rather, a high-end one better suited for the wealthy. He still didn’t know how his captain managed to procure the resources for everything so far.

“Kashiwagi-san,” the name was still new when the doorman said it, and Renji almost forgot it was addressed to his captain, when he noted Renji’s presence beside the raven, “ah, I see your partner is already so sprightly.”

Renji stared blankly at the middle-aged man at the word ‘partner’, stood there for a few seconds unblinking, before Byakuya intercepted, “yes, he is already feeling better. We are about to find ourselves some breakfast now.”

“I’m glad to hear that! I must say, Nitsukō-san, I was worried when I saw Kashiwagi-san carrying you unconscious. He was so panicked!” the human laughed, addressing Renji directly, “I guess that showed how much he cares about you.”

“Yeah...” Renji trailed off, unsure of the situation and not wanting to say anything that would make his captain’s cover-up story suspicious. Also, his brain was short-circuited because he forgot the little bit of information the older man told him before.

 _We’re lovers now_. At least in pretense during their stay in the Material World.

Still, Renji’s cheeks heat up. And to make things worse, the doorman noticed and worriedly said, “although you still look a little feverish, Nitsukō-san, are you sure it is wise to be up and about?”

“I’m fine!” Renji shook his head, “just a little bit hot from these _clothes_ in the middle of summer.”

“He just needs to adjust to the change in temperature, is all. He has been staying in an air-conditioned environment for five days straight, after all,” Byakuya explained hurriedly, placing a gentle hand on the younger’s arm and gave the doorman a nod, “we will be going now, if you will.”

“Of course, of course! I’m sorry for keeping you from your breakfast,” the doorman laughed sheepishly and then bowed in apology and sent them off with a small wave.

“What the hell did you tell him when I was out?” Renji hissed under his breath as they exited the building. The morning air was cool, but rapidly warming as the sun traveled slowly but surely up the horizon.

While he expected Tokyo to be a much bigger city than Karakura, given the sceneries he had from the windows of their apartment, he didn’t quite yet understand the magnitude. The sidewalk was already bustling with pedestrians hurrying along for work or school, the traffic jam-packed, cars and buses swift and almost impatient in their journey across the road.

And the noise. He didn’t know that people could be so _loud_. He thought his ears went deaf from the bustling white noise of the pedestrians talking to their phones, to each other, or shouting at one thing or another. A group of schoolgirls running with heavy schoolbags in hand, yelling and jeering at each other as they were late for school. Salarymen talking to their phones or earpieces over the other noises, shouting at their juniors on the other side of the call, or faking saccharine sweet words to their bosses. Young mothers yelling at their children to stop running ahead as they carried groceries in one hand and their large bags in the other. Old people by small shops and food stalls, talking amongst themselves, gossiping and judging every little thing going across the street in front of them—that young man with an ear-piercing made them shake their heads, along with the schoolgirls with too-short skirts and dyed hair.

The skyscrapers surrounding him were gigantic, looming over him like giants over a tiny ant. Tall buildings covered with large, colorful screens filled with actors and actresses, advertisements, and music. Sirens coming from police cars and ambulances filtered through the noise of the masses, loud engines of some irresponsible cars and motorcycles speeding through the road deafening before they quickly went away. Overhead, a news helicopter zoomed through the sky, following the story of someone trying to kill himself atop the Tokyo Tower—though Renji wouldn’t know this, wide-eyed and oblivious to the news as he was.

And how quickly he became overwhelmed. So overwhelmed that, as they were walking down the sidewalk, he didn’t notice his surroundings and almost crash against a running young man—a university student perhaps, from his casual yet academic appearance—if Byakuya didn’t pull him back by his elbow. The young man halted for a bit, shouting a quick ‘sorry’ and a bow, before taking off again.

“Be careful, Renji. People in the big city are not as considerate,” Byakuya said as they both straightened up, and Renji was finally grounded.

The redhead blinked, his glazed eyes refocused, and felt himself flush for however many times that morning, glaring at his captain for no reason and simply nodded sharply. His only experience in the Material World was Karakura Town, and this was another level entirely. He was glad that they were all betas. He couldn’t imagine a place so big, so vast and crowded, filled with alphas just like the Tsunayashiro, who would stop at nothing to hunt him down. He unwillingly shuddered, shaking the nightmarish imagination out of his head.

“When we first arrived, you were unconscious,” the older man started, finally answering Renji’s question as he led them both to a restaurant he had spotted near the apartment complex just yesterday. He continued, “I had Urahara deal with the lease on my behalf beforehand, so we simply needed an excuse as to why I didn’t take you to a hospital instead as we checked in. I told the doorman you had a fever and fainted.”

“Fain—“ Renji sputtered, indignant, but stopped himself from raising his voice. Taking a deep breath, he learned to let it go, for now. What was already done couldn’t be undone, after all.

“I didn’t know you’re that close to Urahara-san,” he said instead. They crossed another street, leading them to an intersection filled with pedestrians waiting for the red light. He couldn’t fathom how his captain navigated through the densely packed urban jungle before this.

Byakuya nearly scoffed, “not quite. I had Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo deliver my message to him before we arrived here. I simply requested his assistance for a certain... favor.”

“You _bribed_ him?”

They walked along with the swarm when the light turned red. Renji instinctively reached for his captain’s hand out of fear of separation in such a messy scene, feeling like a lost child, but stopped at the last second, tucking his hand to his side as if burned.

“He needed capital for certain researches he had planned. I was simply a willing donator,” was the answer, vague as it was, spoken loudly over the noisy crowd at the crossing. Byakuya reached for Renji’s hand instead, pulling the redhead close to his side as more people bumped their way from the opposite direction.

If Renji was relieved, he didn’t say it. Instead, he simply let himself being pulled close to his captain’s warmth, his ears reddening again. He didn’t notice how rough the older man’s hand was before. It was a given since they were both warriors, men of the swords. He always thought of his captain as something above the rough edges of mortals. But as their palms met, the ridges and callouses on the other’s pale hand were made obvious against his own, and his thumb grazed over a sunken skin on the back of his hand, akin to scars. Scars from handling one of the hardest zanpakuto to control. And his battle with Tsukishima.

They stopped in front of a small, inconspicuous looking restaurant. It was traditionally designed as if it hadn’t been renovated for decades as it retained its late Edo-era charm amidst colorful walls and tiles of the buildings on its sides. Truthfully, Renji expected nothing less from his captain.

The wooden door slid open, and the smell of tea leaves along with fragrant broths entered his nose pleasingly. The restaurant was quiet, a ghastly different scene from the street just outside. There were few patrons, mostly old men and women drinking their teas and eating light digestive breakfasts, talking mutedly amongst themselves and the waiters, looking like they were at home more than a restaurant. It was a place for regulars, one of those tried-and-true shops, standing on for generations.

They were led by a server in a yukata to a table on the furthest end of the restaurant, away from the rest of the regulars. She seemed to recognize Byakuya with the easy way smiled, like an indulgent mother-figure, as she handed Renji a menu.

His eyes sparkled when he found _taiyaki_ there, quickly ordering a portion, not noticing the fond look his captain was giving him.

“You’re not gonna order, Ca-Byakuya?” he stumbled upon the raven’s name and raised his brow when the middle-aged woman left them after she took his order, not even staying long to wait for Byakuya’s.

“I visited regularly,” Byakuya said easily, resting his chin on his hand, “it’s not surprising how you immediately ordered taiyaki. You love them, don’t you?”

Renji was at loss for words, feeling something sweet and soft fluttering in his stomach. Who was this man smiling handsomely at him, looking so casually charming, as if Renji was the object of his affection?

Then he remembered that they were supposed to be ‘lovers’. 

His heart clenched without his consent, sinking inside, and the fluttering in his stomach replaced by something hollow. And if Byakuya noticed the shift in Renji’s somber mood, and how he didn’t say anything back, he didn’t mention it, out of worry for making a scene at such a public space.

Their food came not long after, eliminating the chance for him to prod the younger for his troubles entirely. A tray full of a steaming plate filled with three medium-sized taiyaki was placed in front of Renji, along with a set of _chazuke_ and _chawanmushi_ with small appetizers, condiments, and his piping hot tea. Another tray was put down for Byakuya, and Renji, try as he might, had to raise his brow.

“Sake for breakfast?” And also, sakura yokan arranged prettily in a long dish, pushed to the side for the spice-laden grilled salmon, miso soup, and his steaming bowl of rice. He thought his captain hated sweets.

“It is a sweet sake. It pairs well with the sakura yokan,” Byakuya said, and Renji spotted something soft lingering behind his slate-grey orbs, “it is my favorite dessert.”

Huh.

Mentally shrugging, the redhead simply tucked the tidbit of information away to the ‘useless facts’ in his brain, ready to be forgotten by tomorrow.

* * *

They visited the supermarket afterward, Renji with his commoner mind insisting that they shouldn’t be so careless with money—even though he _still_ didn’t know where Byakuya was getting it from, especially now knowing that he had enough to bribe Urahara with it. Did Urahara-san take human money or _Kan_ , was the question.

What he couldn’t stand was how strange and out of character his captain was being. He hovered close to Renji, arms grazing every so often and _smiling_ that heartbreakingly sweet smile whenever he looked at Renji fussing over the prices even though he suspected Byakuya could probably afford to buy the entire aisle without blinking an eye. And it stung because he knew they were acting, and _he_ was acting, smiling back and throwing light-hearted jokes and flirts, making people look, making them see that they were indeed lovers, making them _judge_.

The raven paid for everything, effortlessly pulling out a flashy black card from the wallet tucked inside his jacket—which was another weird sight, he decided—and making the cashier fumbled with his piercing gaze when the man looked at Renji weirdly—his scarlet hair, the glimpses of tattoos on his brows...

It would have been touching if he didn’t know how deliberate and contrived it was.

They returned to the apartment after having another meal out for lunch, the trip to the supermarket taking longer than Renji expected. They greeted the overly friendly doorman again—Nakamura-san, he said his name was—and despite looking every bit the couple they acted out to be, a sour taste was left in his mouth.

Byakuya knew a silent treatment when he saw it, and he knew there was something in his lieutenant’s mind since earlier that morning. From the way he ignored the raven as they entered the room, immediately going to the kitchen area to put out the things they bought, to the way the redhead politely told him that he didn’t need Byakuya’s help.

The rest of the day went in the same tense manner; an invisible rift, a shield that Renji put up just like the days before, and Byakuya felt disappointment in himself—he was back to square one. Even as they sat together in front of the large television in the living room, Renji fiddling with the remote, eyes unblinking and unseeing despite the bright and dynamic shows, and himself idly reading a book or two about who-knew-what. They were simply waiting for the night to come.

He knew they couldn’t stay like this forever. 

Renji cooked them a simple dinner, his morning burst of excitement in cooking things that he liked was all but gone, and the meal turned bland in their mouth as they ate with the silence of a funeral.

.

The curtains in the bedroom were still opened, showering the room with dim city lights. The moon, as always, was covered in the pollution in the air, and the only light surviving from the sky paled in comparison with the artificial ones created below.

Byakuya sat on the edge of the bed, his hair still damp and his hands clasped between his legs. He heard quiet rustles in the ensuite, knowing Renji was behind the locked door, only finished with his shower. They only had one bathroom. His hands tightened, fingers gripping one another, and he breathed in and out slowly.

When Renji stepped out from the ensuite, a towel draped over his wet hair, dressed in a loose white shirt and pajama pants, he saw his captain sitting on the bed, as still as a statue. Upon closer look, the raven’s eyes were closed, and his breathing was slow. He looked asleep but his muscles looked too tense.

Renji unconsciously touched the healing mark on his gland, noticing the subtle flinch the elder produced. So he really could feel it.

“We don’t gotta act like a sappy couple you know,” he said as casually as he could, towel drying his hair all the while. He knew his captain wanted answers for his behavior that day, his sudden shift in demeanor. Better say it now, as factually as he could, before more feelings got dragged into it—and more ache along his chest.

“Act?” Byakuya looked up at the looming redhead with a frown. He saw Renji standing a few feet away, still right in front of the door to the bathroom. The fragrant scent of soap, the shampoo they both used, and something distinctly Renji—sweet sake and sakura yokan... he closed his eyes again, breathing through his teeth.

Then he understood.

“I see,” he whispered, a shuddering sigh of relief escaped his lips. He thought it was something else... he thought Renji was suffering another withdrawal from his previous experience, that he was _afraid_ of Byakuya—

“What?” Renji bristled, somehow feeling offended by the relief in the other’s voice.

“So that is what has been bothering you,” the raven muttered to himself, rubbing a hand over his temple. Looking like that, doing what he did, Renji awed at the fact that Byakuya looked like an actual human being—flawed, like him. He looked like he had been expecting something worse, and now the burden had been lifted from him, like a free man.

“You got a point you trying to make?” Renji asked with a clipped tone, crossing his arms. 

“I’m sorry,” Byakuya apologized quickly, looking up again to his lieutenant. He wanted to beckon the redhead to come closer, to stand in front of him, but he was afraid he would recoil instead.

He mulled over the words in his head, nervous with what he was about to reveal, an alien feeling even to himself. But if it was to reassure the younger of his genuine emotions, of what he really thought of the other, then he would do it all. The consequences of rejection and unanswered feelings were impending, but he was willing to take it. He didn’t want Renji to think he was lying to him—again.

“Perhaps it was an act, at least, it was supposed to be,” he said softly, not taking his eyes off the tense redhead, ”but I want you to know that... I wish to pursue this.”

Renji’s mind was near empty. _Pursue? Pursue what? What do you mean?_

 _It mustn’t be what I think it meant_.

“All of this,” the raven gestured to the room, “all the plan, the preparations, our guises as lovers... why do you think I chose them to be so?”

Byakuya waited for Renji’s reaction, for him to finally connect the dots. “I am selfish, Renji,” he admitted, “everything was contrived. Everything was created so I could have you... have _us_ , like this. Together. It wasn’t simply to escape the nobles nor the Tsunayashiro.”

It was the first time he laid his thoughts out like this. Hisana needed a supportive husband, his family required a powerful leader, and the Gotei 13 expected a strong pillar of protection. But here, in front of Renji, who was wide-eyed and shocked frozen by his words, he bared it all. He made himself vulnerable, telling him of his desires and emotions, the matter that clawed at his heart and his alpha instinct most.

To secure his omega. To protect and cherish with every fiber of his being.

“What are you trying to say,” Renji whispered, near-hysterical in his stride to close the distance, and pulled at the collar of Byakuya’s shirt, “what are you playing at?!”

He didn’t want to believe it. He refused. Because it couldn’t, mustn’t be true. The raven was pulling on his leash again, he was playing, toying around with Renji’s vulnerabilities as an omega again, treating him like some sort of an _animal_ —

The noble touched Renji’s hand on his collar with his own, his skin warm, and his mien was calm even as Renji glared at him with blazing orbs. He had expected the outburst.

“I’m afraid I will only scare you more if I say it now,” Byakuya let out shudderingly, and Renji’s hand grew slack.

 _‘He’s afraid’, he said._ Afraid.

Kuchiki Byakuya looked at him with silvery orbs, glassy and open, vulnerable, and Renji could _see_ —the tightness in his brows, the tremble in his hand that slowly turning cold on top of Renji’s own.

Byakuya saw the lost look on Renji’s face and smiled tenderly. Giving himself one leeway, promising himself that he wouldn’t do it again, he took the younger’s hand to his lips, palm side up, and nuzzled the scent gland with his nose.

_‘My favorite dessert.’_

He placed a kiss there, a fleeting little thing, almost like a ghost of warm air before he let go entirely. Renji was rooted on the spot even as Byakuya stood and left the room as quietly as a shadow.

.

That night, despite knowing the raven was taking the sofa again, Renji left the door to the bedroom unlocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, is it just me or does this A/B/O look like a non-typical A/B/O story with the slow burn stuff after all this plot? lmao People who expected 'knotting' and 'mating' and 'breeding' be like B R U H WHERE X'DD
> 
> It's coming >.> slowly... but surely.
> 
> Oh, and update: Kan is a currency used in Soul Society.


End file.
